The present disclosure relates to the field of medical apparatuses and medical examination methods. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a method and an apparatus for performing an imaging procedure of an object of interest, in particular mammography.
Breast cancer is a prolific cause of life threatening disease that affects millions worldwide. Because early detection greatly improves survival rates, screening methods, such as mammography, have been established to detect malignant lesions as early as possible, resulting in earlier diagnosis and treatment.
Mammography devices, also referred as mammographs, conventionally comprise at least one x-ray source and a console which is arranged opposite said source and intended to receive and support the patient's breast. This console integrates a detector for detecting the x-rays after they have passed through the patient's breast (array of sensors, x-ray sensitive film cassette, etc.) and is associated with a breast compression paddle which is designed to compress the breast against the console when images are being taken. The x-ray source is supported by a mechanical arm of the mammograph, while the x-ray detector is placed under the console. The arm and the console are movable relative to one another and are mechanically coupled.
The mammograph, in order to perform the examination, has to move the x-ray source above the breast so as to acquire the x-ray images and it can move it only along a predetermined path (linear or arc-shaped) defined by the architecture of the mammograph itself. The trajectories performed by the arm are planar.
A physician can also perform the examination, who, in order to perform the examination, has to move the arm above the breast so as to acquire the x-ray images and he can move it step-by-step by pressing different buttons provided on it, each button making the arm move in a predefined direction and/or orientation. When the arm has to be removed from above the x-ray detector so as to let the physician reach the patient's breast, a parking button has to be pressed, thus moving the arm to predefined parking positions.
The mammographs can be further provided with devices for an assisted manipulation of an instrument, such as for example an echographic probe, which the physician may want to use to conduct an additional examination over an area in which there is a possible lesion. However the physician, in order to use such devices, has to localize the lesion to be evaluated by mentally “superimposing” the image acquired by the mammograph over the breast. This requires a lot of efforts and often leads to imprecise localization of the lesion, which may be particularly detrimental.
In addition to the above, the mammographs can also be provided with an apparatus for performing the breast biopsy called biopsy positioner. Such positioner is an auxiliary device fixed, in a manner per se known, to the mammograph, to be used to perform a breast biopsy.
Collaborative robot or “cobot” are moreover well known in the art. A cobot makes possible a direct physical collaboration between a person and a computer controlled manipulator. Cobots may take a number of configurations common to conventional robots. In place of the actuators that move standard robots, cobots use variable transmission elements whose transmission ratio is adjustable under computer control by use of small steering motors. Cobots guide, redirect or steer motions that originate with the human operator. Thus, both the cobot and the human operator apply forces on a common object, which may be for example a tool.
Cobots are used in medical applications, for example applied to devices for performing a biopsy. However, in the medical field cobots are used only for small tools, which are light and easy to move, due to the difficulty in applying cobots design to big devices.